With the advent of high speed digital copiers, scanners and automatic document processing-based document center systems, one of the challenging problems is fully exploiting their capacity. If we analyze the work flow process in using these systems, we observe that a single job is being processed even though the document handler's capacity may exceed the current job size. In such a scenario, users have to wait or return to find a time when the system is free for use. If we could allow multiple jobs to be stacked and processed, this would make such a system more convenient to use and also utilize its capacity to full. To enable this however, would require a mechanism to recognize the presence of a new job and invoke it with the respective job-specific parameters.
What follows are some prior methods directed at job separation and identification schemes where attempts have been made to recognize jobs at the scanner, processing, and printer aspects of document processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,012, entitled "Header sheet for image communications system," issued to Verderber et al discloses a header sheet for use with an automatic image communication transmission system, having regularly spaced hash marks around the border to identify the sheet as a header. Additional markings are in the border to identify the leading edge of the sheet relative to the scan raster of the system, and areas to designate sender and addressee stations by the location of markings relative to the position of the scan raster.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,554, entitled "Job processing system for high speed electronic copying/printing machines," issued to Rourke discloses a job processing site having plural electronic printers and document scanners, a job input station with electronic job ticket for entering printing instructions for a job with a job number to a job program file, a copier to provide a hard copy of the electronic job ticket with job number in machine readable form for assembly with the documents that comprise the job so that when the job is processed at the job site, the job number is obtained to retrieve the printing instructions for the job from the job program file.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,779, entitled "Job control sheet for image processing system," issued to Hikawa discloses an image processing system that specifies input image information on the basis of existence of a special mark or patterns printed on a job control sheet. Selected one of various image processing is executed in accordance with the existence of the special marks or patterns to thereby obtain output image information. Each of the special marks or patterns are line drawings, each drawn so as to have a certain low correlative angle to longitudinal and transverse directions of an image provided with the special mark or patterns.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,037, entitled "Image processing system and method for processing documents in accordance with a job control sheet," issued to Saito discloses an image processing system in which input image information that is read from a document original is subjected to image processing on the basis of machine operating instruction information that is defined by a job control sheet, to obtain output image information. Machine operating instruction information borne by the job control sheet is read and interpreted, and it is judged whether or not the interpreted instruction is executable. When the machine operating instruction is executable, image processing of a batch of document originals following the job control sheet is executed to generate output image information, whereas, if the machine operating instruction is unexecutable, the batch of document original is fed forward without being processed up to the last document original that immediately precedes a subsequent job control sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,371, entitled "Image processing system using job control sheets with attributes," issued to Hikawa et. al discloses an image processing system in which an input image read from a document is subjected to image processing on the basis of machine operations indicating information defined in a job control sheet, to thereby obtain an output image. The job control sheet having specific marks or patterns arranged at its four corners so as to be point symmetrical with each other for discriminating the job control sheet from a document. The specific marks are comprised of attributes which are different in part for each of the specific marks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,381, entitled "Method for compiling multiple jobs with job reference sheets," issued to Hube discloses a method provided for printing a job, represented by a set of electronic pages, with a job reference sheet in a printing system, the printing system having a printer and a scanner adapted to both convert the job into the set of electronic pages and decode machine readable code. The method includes the steps of storing the set of electronic pages in a memory section and assigning a unique job identifier to the stored job for indicating a location of the stored job in the memory section. The method further includes the steps of printing the job reference sheet so that the unique job identifier is designated on the job reference sheet in machine readable code and scanning the job reference sheet for reading the machine readable code to retrieve the set of electronic pages from the memory section for printing with the printer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,986, entitled "Image processing system," issued to Suzuki discloses an image processing system for processing input image data according to the machine operation instructions described in a job control sheet and outputting the processed image data. An instruction recognizing unit recognizes the machine operation instructions stored in the job control sheet; a decision unit decides whether execution of the recognized machine operation instructions is possible or impossible; a processing unit processes the input image data processed by the job control sheet when execution of the machine operation instruction is possible, and outputs the processed image data; an instruction altering unit alters the machine operation instructions by an operator of the machine; a storing unit stores input image data; and a control unit controls all of the units.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,087, entitled "Constructing a multi-segment print job from multiple local or remote sources using a network interface," issued to Salgado discloses a technique of constructing a multi-segment print job from multiple local and remote sources on a network using a network interface to identify print job segments and location of segments on the network by entering a start build print job function at the network interface, identifying each segment of the print job including segment location, specifying print job characteristics such as quantity and quality for each segment, entering an end build print job function at the network interface, and identifying a printing device on the network whereby each segment of the print job is accessed and distributed to the printing device to complete the multi-segment print job.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,245, entitled "Method for transmitting image processing jobs from a client system, and routing and performing the jobs in an image processing system," issued to Leamy discloses an image processing method carried out by a system where a client system automatically logs client data and retrieves image data to produce a job file which is automatically transmitted to a modem of an image processing system. A control image processor automatically monitors the job file and carries out routing operations and also supervisor notification operations to ensure efficient and effective implementation of the image processing method as required by the client. Each of the workstations are capable of automatic configuration for particular job types by setting image processing parameter values such as memory and virtual memory settings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,493, entitled "Image forming apparatus capable of setting an operational mode by reading image of a predetermined format," issued to Tanaka discloses an image forming apparatus which outputs an operation setting paper sheet (Op-sheet) having printed thereon an operation setting image (template) stored in a data ROM upon operating an operation setting paper sheet output key (OPS key). The image forming apparatus reads the operation setting image on the operation setting paper sheet by a scanner, and sets an operational mode according to selection items in the read image, thereby performing an image forming operation according to the operational mode. By producing a print output of the operation setting image, the operation setting paper sheet in the original form without having a deterioration of the image quality or displacement can be provided with the unique image quality of this image forming apparatus which enables the image to be surely read by the image forming apparatus. Therefore, compared with the case of adopting the conventional operational setting paper sheet to be prepared by repetitively copying the original sheet, an occurrence of reading errors can be suppressed, thereby surely preventing an operation error.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,649, entitled "Network printing system for programming a print job by selecting a job ticket identifier associated with remotely stored predefined document processing control instructions," issued to Kovnat discloses an approach suited for use with an arrangement including an image processing apparatus and a server, with the server being disposed remotely of the image processing apparatus. In practice, a user accesses the remotely disposed server from the image processing apparatus by entering an appropriate personal identification number and selecting a job ticket from a directory listing the job tickets resident at the server. One of the job tickets is then selected and transmitted across the network from the server to the image processing apparatus. A job is then programmed at the image processing apparatus with the selected job ticket.
It is clear that the majority of the art is focused on the output processing function related to job separation. The notion of fast detection and recognition of arbitrary separator sheets under general affine deformations has not been proposed and/or implemented and demonstrated. It is therefore an feature of this invention to provide a method that tolerates more changes in imaging conditions involving pixel resolution, noise, pose changes (rotation, translation and shear) and a system which can be trained on-site to learn any new separator page. It is suitable for use in any scanning assembly systems such as flatbed scanners, feed through document handlers, single page feed scanners, as well wraparound document handlers, and is insensitive to leading and trailing edge-base skew detection problems (unlike existing methods).
Other differences between the presented method and prior job sheet detection methods is the lacking notion of visual recognition of the job sheet, and avoidance of glyphs for purposes of alignment and location coding of job control information. Glyphs could still be used with other attributes of a job that are not location specific. In addition, herein proposed is a more extended use of the alignment marker to recover the affine pose parameters. The detection of alignment marker had been done earlier, only in restricted poses (vertical, horizontal, inverted vertical, inverted horizontal). The current alignment is invariant to skew of the most general form and includes all rotations and stretches that occur on a page due to page folding.
All of the references cited herein are incorporated by reference for their teachings.